'08 19H Water Soft Floor by Door

[fonchrem]

Hello!

Last year we noticed that the folding steps by the front door had way too much give to them but we figured it wasn't secured properly and just stopped using them because the floor seemed solid above them... then winter happened.

We opened up the camper for spring cleaning and the subfloor in front of the door had raised up in a bubble that caused the vinyl to split in front of the door. I have seen a few other posts with very similar issues but no follow up information so I'd welcome any advice anyone can give.

I am currently attempt a self repair of the issue and have discovered the following:

The floor is made up of the "sandwich" of vinyl, plywood, foam/framing/plywood and black tarp stuff.

The area in front of the door looks to be wet/rotten from the front wall to about 12-15" back and every layer is wet/soft to some degree. I have no yet been able to determine the cause of the water but I'm going to assume it's been there for some time with no way to escape.

So far I have cut away the top layer of plywood so that I can get a good look at the problem but I have run into two spots that i am unsure how to deal with:

The oven/sink counter is placed over the wheel and and an inch or two of the floor that is soft is under the counter. It looks like I'll have to take the entire counter out along with the oven and the sink to fix this but haven't look to see how much of a PITA that is going to be yet. Advice welcome.

The floor under the door frame/side wall of the camper no doubt needs to be replaced as well. I don't *think* the wall/frame is actually attacked to the subfloor directly but I can't tell. My plan is to use cut out the damage section and hopefully slide new in, but not sure how feasible that is all going to be.

[Scott91370]

I have done this. It's not fun but not terribly difficult.

There are about a dozen screws holding the counter in place. Take a lot of pictures of all your wiring because you won't remember how they go back - there are a lot. Especially the board by the door where the tank gauges are.
You should be able to lower your couch and place the setup there instead of trying to get it out the door - it's a good amount of twisting to do.
When I did mine I did not replace the section of flooring because of the way it is laminated; instead I placed a 1/8" thick piece of steel under the flooring (I replaced mine with a wood laminate) and ran the bolts through this. It takes a little finagling to do so you don't get a hump from it but I got mine close enough. The hump didn't go away totally but it holds the steps in place now.

[curls]

As I have the same model, I'm wondering if anyone knows why this happens on this model?
On my Jayco popup, I had water inside the trailer one time but found out it was because the plastic wheel well had eaten a rock (found the rock inside!) and had a 2" hole in it, which was hidden by a small cabinet. I fixed it easily with a piece of sheet metal and rivets and a ton of silicone.

[bankr63]

Wet floor is for the same reason as on any other TT. In this particular location, check the seals around the door, including under the door threshold. Also check the bunk seals, back edge roof seal and the mounting around the tail and marker lights. Any one of these spots can allow water to infiltrate.

The water can also potentially come from inside. The toilet is also very nearby, and a leak in the supply pipe can cause this kind of issue.

If the floor is not wet but just soft, it can also be the failure of the floor sandwich. The plywood on the top layer is quite thin, and this is the highest traffic area in any trailer. Eventually the cheap luan just cracks under the pressure.

It is the one soft spot on my floor as well, although we have done extensive testing and investigation and do not think it is a leak. I have had ours fully pressure tested and there are no leaks in the area. The floor also tests dry. I am fairly certain it is simply from the high traffic in the area, but eventually I will pull up the vinyl and rework the floor in that area.

[fonchrem]

Some images of the progress. I've got everything out I want to except for the framing under the wall with the door. Not sure how to go about that if if I even can right now.



This shows the framing under the wall/door. The plywood at least is pretty wet and rotted

[fonchrem]

This shows the frame under the wall. It's wet, the plywood is crumbling, but I'm not sure how to get it out or if I can. The rest are various work in progress pictures.









Any tips for removing that length of floor under the wall would be much appreciated. It's only probably 4' long at most and runs from the back corner to the wheel well.

[Scott91370]

The part under the wall frame I just used a flat head screwdriver and chipped away then put another piece of 2x4 in there.